The 2020 Toyota Supra makes 62 more lb-ft of torque than advertised

05/24/2019

Back in the day, well before my day, some automakers would underrate the horsepower of their engines. There were several reasons for this. Sometimes, like in the case of the Chevrolet L88 Corvette, makers wanted to keep the car a secret for drivers in the know. Other times they dodged insurance rates or kept with gentlemen’s agreements like in the case of the Nissan Skyline GT-R. In the ’90s Japanese automakers agreed to keep advertised horsepower at or below 276. The Nissan made well more than that.

But times change and more often than not, automakers are either honest or overrate their cars. Anyone with access to a dynamometer could easily prove their trustworthiness. And that’s what Car and Driver did with the latest Toyota Supra. It found that the reintroduced sports car puts down 339 hp (4 more than advertised) and 427 lb-ft of torque (62 more than advertised)! And that measurement is at the wheels. Add in a few percentage points for drivetrain loss, and the crank power is higher than that.

Granted, the Supra does feel fast, though I didn’t think it felt that fast in my first drive. But with a claimed 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds, and testers getting into the three-second range, those numbers are now believable. C&D made the measurements in fifth gear because it was unable to reach redline in sixth.

So, good news all around, I guess. Those people already waiting in line for the new Supra will get a little more bang for their buck when they hit the dealerships. And who’s to say what the tuner market might do.